Call For General Election To Kick-Start Care Reform

The country needs a General Election to save social care after another damning report exposed the sorry state of the sector, campaigners have said.

A new report from the Local Government Association (LGA) highlights severe funding shortages, difficulties in staff recruitment, growing complexity of care needs and an inability to invest in preventative care.

And it warns that a third of councils fear they will fail to meet the legal duties they were set under the Care Act, 10 years ago.

The social care provider organisation, The Independent Care Group (ICG) says the report holds no surprises and that sweeping changes are long overdue.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said:
“Today’s report from the LGA is depressingly familiar – we have seen dozens of these, all painting the bleakest of pictures of social care delivery over the past decade and more.

“What it tells me is that we need change and we need it now.”

“We are promised a General Election so let us have that without delay and let us hear from the political parties what they plan to do with social care to tackle the mess the sector is in at the moment.”

“We need to hear concrete proposals as to how politicians plan to get care to the 1.6m who currently can’t get it, recruit 152,000 care staff to meet current demand, pay and reward the workforce properly and find the extra 440,000 staff we will need to meet growing demand by 2035”.

“And we need to hold those politicians accountable.”

He said he hoped the report, and others like it, would make the public wake up to the serious state of social care.

“I think there is an assumption amongst people that care is available for them or their loved ones, when and where they need it,” Mr Padgham added.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. We are heading towards care deserts and when people realise that they might start to agree with us that enough is enough and we need to see improvements.”